Random Access

Wednesday – 05 August 2009
Happy Birthday, !

After work, yesterday, I went home, had dinner… and fell asleep on the sofa. Right. Out. Forty-five minutes later, I was up and rather refreshed, but still feeling a bit lazy. Fortunately, SaraRules was agreeable to putting off last night’s trip to the gym until tonight. While she quilted, I worked on cataloguing a few more boxes of ‘Clix.

Today is Day Two of all-day meetings. Well, one very long meeting, really. However, it’s good information and it’s covering a lot of things that I hadn’t been previously aware of. However, as it is also Comics and Sushi Day, something’s going to have to give. Unfortunately, I believe that it will be sushi; comics can be acquired later this evening.

Stray Toasters

• Coffee: Check.
  Homemade blueberry muffins: Check.
• messaged me last night with some happy news.  (No, it wasn’t that Bot had given birth to Byte…)
  

  2:13:11 PM : we have a momentous occasion to share with uncle rob.
  2:13:19 PM : Oh…
  2:13:24 PM : Is there a new [member of the family]?
  2:13:26 PM : oh heck on
  2:13:30 PM : or no even
  2:13:32 PM : even bigger.
  2:13:37 PM : Bit has her first lego set.
  2:13:40 PM : YES!
  2:13:54 PM : Duplo?
  2:14:08 PM : si. 71 piece.
  2:14:16 PM : I’m assuming that it was your call, not Bot’s.
  2:14:22 PM : She’s not that geeky.
  2:15:00 PM : heh…actually she suggested i get the kid some blocks. she has another set of grippy type blocks that she loves, so heck, if i’m going to buy her blocks…
  2:15:08 PM : *nod*
  2:15:09 PM : Indeed.
  2:15:20 PM : right now she has more fun just taking them apart…
  2:15:24 PM : so my job is to build something
  2:15:27 PM : Gotta start somewhere.
  2:15:27 PM : and her job is to disassemble
  2:15:32 PM : my genes kickin’ in
  2:15:35 PM : Destruction. Construction.
  2:15:42 PM : It’s all part of the process.
  2:16:02 PM : indeed.
  2:16:33 PM : I’m so proud.
  2:16:56 PM : haha i thought you would be
  2:17:09 PM : i told bot i’d pass the news on. you got the predictable eye roll
  2:17:15 PM : i’d say that’s a win
  2:17:19 PM : Definitely.

• Navigating a Geek Marriage?
• Retro-futuristic motorcycle
• 
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Teen Killed at Chinese Internet Addiction Camp
• Russia Calls Submarine Patrols off East Coast ‘Routine’
• From the “No, really..?!” file: Psychopaths Have Brain Structure Abnormality

Namaste.

Monday – 03 August 2009
Another work week begins. But this week is a short one – even shorter than usual, in fact – because we’re heading to Idaho on Thursday to go camping. With that in mind, I think that I can make it three days in the office. (Just found out that we might be going in the “early car,” which means that we’ll be on the road about 0600 on Thursday… but that facilitates my ability to tour EBR-1 (1, 2), so there is a bit of “Win” to be found.

88 Minutes turned out to be a decent movie. It wasn’t awesome and was a little predictable in parts, but it was “just right” for something to have on in the background.

Stray Toasters

• Last night, I started watching Neverwhere, thanks to Netflix “Instant Queue.” About halfway through the first episode, Door asked Richard to seek out the Marquis de Carabas. The name rattled around my head for a few minutes before I was able to make a vague association: A few years ago, either said that I reminded her of the Marquis or that I should dress as him for Hallowe’en. Unfortunately, I don’t remember which it was.
• fotographylife
• I’ve started cataloging my HeroClix figures on HCRealms. I’ve finished with the small trays and started in on the large trays last night. That doesn’t include the bin full of “extra” figures that I have.  That will be fun, I’m sure…
• Botched building demolition creates real world Katamari Damacy horror
• What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?
  I think that I’d have to go with Mocha Almond Fudge (or a variant thereof, depending on brand) and/or a really good Rocky Road.
• Google CEO Schmidt Leaves Apple Board
• 
• As of 01 August 09, NFL Network was supposed to be part of Comcast’s Digitial Classic service package, of which I am a customer. Why is it that when I checked this morning, I received the “For Ordering Information…” announcement? *sigh*
• Car used to design font
• I’m trying to decide whether I want to reinstall Growl.
• Scammer Plants a Fake ATM at Defcon 17

Namaste.

Sunday – 02 August 2009
Last night, I went to OnlyAly and ‘s to play a little poker. It was a fun way to spend the evening. I got home and watched Cigarette Burns, originally part of Showtime’s “Masters of Horror” series, with SaraRules. As Tyranist and Rish described it on Horror Film Compendium:

An obtainer of rare films is contracted to find the most notorious film of all time, the supposedly lost (and madness-inducing) Le Fin Absolue Du Monde. But the closer he gets to finding the film, the more the powers of darkness close in on him.

It was a curious film. And rather dark. But, it was good.

After the movie, I lobotomized Defiant. She now has a larger hard drive and a fresh new install of OSX. While I was waiting for the OS to install, I channel-surfed. I wound up finding Grindhouse on Encore. Having not seen it before, I watched it… or at least half of it: “Planet Terror.” And it was fun. A lot of fun, in fact.

I wanted to stay up and watch “Deathproof,” but “Planet Terror” didn’t end until 0200 and I had to get up early in order to go to…

…The Park City Kimball Arts Festival. SaraRules and I headed up and met and Chris2 for brunch. No, make that “breakfast,” Cisero’s doesn’t do their normal brunch during the Arts Festival. BAH! However, that didn’t stop the omelettes we had from tasting great. After breakfast, we met and even ran into Jim and Sandi walking up the street. (Superpower: Check!) There was a lot of good stuff to be seen at the festival, too.

Back down to the valley for afternoon babysitting duty. Kate and Perry needed someone to watch the kids for a couple of hours. We had an open schedule and agreed. (It wasn’t really hard to agree to, honestly.) The kids were great, as usual.

Back home again. We both planned to have some hobby time, but didn’t want to watch either of our Netflix movies – neither of them are “in the background” movies. So, we opted to watch 88 Minutes. It’s been an interesting movie. (We’re still a few minutes from the end.)

All of that, and the night’s still young.

Namaste.

Wednesday: Coda
I picked up my car after work. My wallet was much lighter after that stop. But, after nearly 100,000 miles, things were bound to need replacing. So, all things considered (on NPR), I can’t really complain. That… and the car runs better – without leaks and without the “Check Engine” light being on.

SaraRules fixed Pad Thai for dinner. We ate it while watching last week’s episode of Burn Notice. Win-Win.

Next on the agenda: The gym. We did a chest and biceps routine:

• Sit-ups (decline): 3 sets/20 reps – included 10 reps of opposite elbow-to-knee twists on two sets
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 185 lbs
• Chest Press (Icarian): 3 sets/10 reps, 100 lbs
• Lower Back Extensions: 3 sets/10 reps
• Flys (dumbbell, flat bench): 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs
• Curls (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs
• Wrist Curls (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 20 lbs
• Core (plank): 3 sets/45 seconds

Weight (morning): 184.5 lbs

It was a nice end-of-the-day workout.

Stray Toasters

• Arizona Considers Selling Capitol Buildings
• By way of comes: Ragtime Covers of 80s Tunes

• iPhone App Tracks Sex Offenders

Quote of the Day
SaraRules hit a new max bench weight today: 95 pounds. With that came the following gem:

Yeah, I’m a bad-ass. Take that, bitches!

Take that, indeed.

Wednesday: Coda
The day turned out better than Tuesday, after all. Selah.

After work, SaraRules and I headed to Kate and Perry’s – I had a few Blackest Night-related comics to hand off. On the way there, we were passed by a couple of scooter riders whose helmets looked… vaguely familiar; I confirmed later that it was and A 400 Lb Gorilla. We hung out with Perry and the Kids for a while. Next, we headed to the nearest Best Buy, where I (finally) found a copy of Green Lantern: First Flight… with the figurine. (More on this later.) I, however, completely forgot to look for a copy of The Middleman. Ah, well, another time.

Back home, SaraRules started in on dinner and I started in on today’s four-color crack. For tonight’s fare, SaraRules made maple chicken, cheesy potatoes, green beans and glasses of Novella Synergy Blanc. Dinner was, as always, quite delicious. During dinner we watched GL:FF. After that, SaraRules went back to work on our wedding quilt and I finished up my four-color shwag.

Reeling by on Celluloid
Green Lantern: First Flight, the latest release from DC Universe Animated Original Movies, is an adaptation of the origin story of the Silver Age Green Lantern, Hal Jordan. The feature hits the ground running and, before the opening credits even roll, you’ve been introduced to Hal and two major supporting characters. Things don’t exactly slow down after the opening credits, either, as Hal meets Sinestro and three other Lanterns and is escorted to Oa, home of the Green Lantern Corps. The story doesn’t retell Hal’s first days as a GL entirely as recounted in comics, but that’s okay – the story that they do tell is a good one. The story makes the characters accessible to viewers who neither watched Justice League/Unlimited nor read the comic book and it even lends itself for more GL features down the road. As an added bonus, one of the special features on the disc is a preview of the upcoming Superman/Batman: Public Enemies. Win-Win.

Four-Color Coverage

Stray Toasters

• Officiant: Check!
• There, I Fixed It
• I read this and thought of :

  

• What do you get when you mix Wu-Tang Clan and LEGO? Something like this.
• Robert Downey, Jr. on Iron Man 2
• PhysicsCentral: Learn How Your World Works

Namaste.

Sunday – 26 July 2009
SaraRules and I did a little shopping yesterday. I picked up some new gym gear and a few pairs of shorts. Later in the evening, we hung out with shockpuppet, and others for Rib Fest last night. It was a lot of fun.

This morning was a lazy sleep-in day. I woke up and picked up American Psycho again. Unfortunately, I’d forgotten where I stopped reading, so I had to go back and cover about 10 pages again. Then, it was time for breakfast and the first three eps of Wolverine and the X-Men. And then…

Workout
…SaraRules and I went to the gym for a workout:

• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 185 lbs
• Upright Row: 3 sets/10 reps, 60 lbs
• Sit-ups (decline): 3 sets/20 reps
• Compound Row: 3 sets/12 reps, 125 lbs
• Lower Back Extensions: 3 sets/10 reps
• Curls (dumbell, with shoulder press): 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs
• Tricep Press (T-bar): 3 sets/15 reps, 80 lbs
• Lunges: 3 sets/10 reps
• Core (plank, side): 3 sets/30 seconds

Weight: 184.5 lbs

Stray Toasters

• Rebecca, Joe or Jim (can’t remember who pondered this with me): It does not seem as though glow sticks have made it onto the “Stuff White People Like” website or book. Yet.
  • In a related note, Stuff Mormons Like is my favorite parody site of the SWPL site.
• I haven’t been G4‘s biggest fan since they became “G4” – I miss the… intelligence and variety, I guess… of TechTV. However, I have to give them props for their coverage of Comic-Con 2009.
• 
• Baptist Leaders Face Challenge on Women’s Roles
• From the “SkyNet is now online…” file: Scientists Worry Machines May Outsmart Man
• Taqwacore: Muslim Punk Underground
• This shit is bananas…
  (I still think that MarknTyme should teach this to his band as a stand song.)
• Three reasons Palin’s move might be about money
• After a few days with Safari, I’ve found the transition hasn’t been too bad. There are still a couple of relatively minor things that I miss from Firefox, but nothing yet to make me go kicking and screaming back to it. Yet.
• First, Geoff Johns did a Legion episode of Smallville… and now he’s writing a JSA episode? Hmm…

Namaste.

Saturday – 25 July 2009
For some reason, it feels like a Sunday morning. I can’t really put my finger on “why,” though. It might have to do with the abbreviated work week, but I don’t think that’s it. *shrug* Oh, well… I’m not going to spend too many cycles trying to figure it out.  Instead, I’ll enjoy the “extra” day of relaxation.

Rachel made it to town yesterday; she was stopping over on her way home to California. The s’mores brownies she’d requested were ready shortly after she arrived. Later, she, SaraRules and I went to dinner at Red Iguana; despite living in SLC for over 10 years, I had never eaten there before.  I had the Chimichanga Original with a side of Spanish Rice, both of which were very good.

After dinner, we met up with the usual suspects for Clitorati. Fortunately, sent out a message letting us know that Borders was closing early for Pioneer Day… because SaraRules and I went by Thursday evening to investigate any signs of an early closure and there were none. *shakes fist* So, when Borders closed for the evening, we headed to Barnes and Noble, instead. It was a good change of pace. It’s also a change that we might make a more regular occurrence.

This morning, SaraRules, Rachel and I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of pancakes and eggs (fixed by Ms. ‘Rules). After breakfast, Rachel got back on her westward trek.

Stray Toasters

• NECA Gets Wizkids (and we’re awaiting more news about the deal and what it means for the game)
• Obama Tries to Defuse Gates Controversy
• I’m surprised no one thought of – or did – this sooner: Tom Hanks Trash Can
• Sports of the Times: Chugging Along, His Ego in Tow
• Are RAID Controllers the Next Data Center Bottleneck?
• 
• From NPR Music: Allen Toussaint: The Road Through America
• Bennett signs one-year deal with receiver-needy Ravens after tryout
• The Best First Language for a Young Programmer
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?!” file: Dead Goat Polo Arcade Game
• 
• iPhone 3Gs Encryption Cracked in Two Minutes
• Star Wars: In Concert, narrated (live) by Anthony Daniels

Namaste.

Friday – 24 July 2009
It’s my 9/80 Friday.
It’s not even 8:30.
So, why am I wide awake? (written when it was still “morning” in Utah.)

Oh, well.

Last night, SaraRules and I had dinner with OnlyAly, , Stephanie and Jason at MacCool’s, an Irish(-style) pub, in Foothill Village. I had been there once before, but not for dinner. I ordered the Finn’s Fries (think “nachos,” then take a left – it’s made with potatoes, rather than tortillas) for an appetizer. Holy cow… They were incredible. I had the Pub Steak for my entree. I was a bit more disappointed here: I asked for it “medium-well,” it came out “medium-rare,” or as might say: “They threatened it with the flame.” They took it back and recooked it; while it did cook through, it made the outer layers a tad tougher. All-in-all, it was a good experience and I’d definitely go back again.

The evening was spent lazily lounging around. Nothing wrong with that.

Today is also Pioneer Day in Utah. (And Missouri and California, according to one joke I’ve heard.)

Stray Toasters
Stray Toasters are preceding Four-Color Coverage today. Why? Because I think that FCC may get to be “a bit” lengthy and I’m going to try using the never-seen-in-this-blog “MORE” tag. Or, for a shorter answer: “Because I can.” So, without further ado:

• Marvin the Martian… made of LEGO bricks.
• I received my Mac pony pegasus from Stephanie last night. It looks great. I’ll take (and post) some pictures of it later.
• iGoogle now has a “Comics” themes category; a tip of the hat to for point this out to me. My home page is now decked out with a snazzy Green Lantern theme.
• Race and book covers: Why is there a white girl on the cover of this book about a black girl?
• I stumbled across this yesterday afternoon: This wedding party entrance had the potential to be disastrous. Instead, I think it was rather cool and looked like everyone had a fun time with it:

• Blackest Night figures (Series 3)  from DC Direct
• Catwoman 1:6 Scale Deluxe Collector Figure
• Expectations != Results, as dx/dy (Laziness) = 0
• Federal agents apprehend fugitive after 15 years
• Homemade AT-AT loft bed
• Hello Kitty + Star Wars = ???
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?!” file: Artist takes $190,000 out of bank because they won’t give him a mortgage
• Slap on the wrist for officer who assaulted paramedic

Namaste.

Four-Color Coverage
It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these; hopefully, I remember how it goes. Since it’s been so long, I’m also going to cover some of the highlights from the past weeks, as well. With that in mind, I’m going to use the “MORE” tag to cut the bulk of the text. Hopefully, it will work as expected…

Read More �

Tuesday – 21 July 2009
Apparently, the seventeenth fourth time is the charm. The water pump is in and things seem to be as expected.

After getting the car, SaraRules and I went out to Hobby Lobby and IKEA. Our trip to the Garden of Sweden came after learning that a sofa we were considering, Varnamo,  had been discontinued; we went in search of a suitable alternative. We think that we found it in the KARLSTAD series.

Back at home, I finished up the first floor of my ‘Clix house… only to discover that the plan we’d come up with for the second floor wasn’t going to work. *sigh* Back to the literal drawing board. After moving a staircase here and a wall there, I think that things will pan out pretty well.

Stray Toasters

• The Park City Kimball Arts Festival is a week-and-a-half away.  Who’s up for a Sunday excursion?
• Rachel’s coming to town Friday and has requested that I make S’mores Brownies.
• Magazine Writes New Rules for Polite Digital Society
• The 10 Worst Evolutionary Designs
• Barnes and Noble to Create an E-book Megacenter
• From last night’s The Late Late Show: Fireball XL-5

• Deal reached to close California’s $26B Budget Gap
• I just had an apostrophe epiphany. Julie and I were discussing shows we watched while growing up and (for whatever reason) Gilligan’s Island came up. We were talking about it for a minute or two when I realized: Gilligan’s Island was the Lost of the 1960s.
• …and, somehow, remembering that reminded me of Gilligan’s Planet. *shiver*
• sent me a link to: Palin’s Resignation: The Edited Version
• My name is Prince
  And I am funky
  When it comes to funk
  I am a junkie
• Glasgow steampunk fair at the world’s oldest music hall, the Panopticon

Namaste.

Monday – 20 July 2009
I was up far later than I should have been last night. Hopefully, the caffeine will save me. On the other hand, I managed to modify a few interior wall textures for my ‘Clix city that will give me a little more variety in my buildings.

Last night, Logan came over for dinner; SaraRules fixed chicken mole – it was good with a bit of a spicy kick. After dinner, we walked over to Target to find some updated cards for Trivial Pursuit. There were none to be found, but they had the “25^th Anniversary Edition” for $30. We decided to walk to the Wal-Mart to see what they had to offer; if nothing else, we had to walk back past Target to get home, so we could always pick it up on the way back. While the Wal-Mart didn’t have 25AE, they did have the “Best of Genus” edition. And it was only $20. Win. We headed back home and played – I won, SaraRules came in 2^nd, and Logan brought up the rear.

So far, the morning has been pretty quiet. Let’s hope the rest of the day follows suit.

Stray Toasters

• Learning makes your brain happy
• Aldrin Reflects on Life After Moon Mission
  • Apollo 11: Untold Stories of the Moon Race
• Best-selling author McCourt dies
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Teenager with Asperger’s hoaxes UK aviation industry with fake airline
• Designer axes (unfortunately, this does not mean “guitars”)
• 
• Ink Calendar: paper uses capillary action to fill in one day’s number at a time
• 10 Weirdest Pet Accessories
• Shanahan wants another head-coaching job, possibly as soon as 2010
• 
• Singer Marc Anthony will be part of ‘major’ announcement with Dolphins
• My calves hurt from yesterday’s workout.
• This makes me laugh:

  

Namaste.

Saturday – 18 July 2009
After work yesterday, I headed up to hang out with the in-laws-to-be. SaraRules’ cousins (first cousin and her kids) were visiting for a few days and were there when I arrived. We all had dinner and then SaraRules and I headed off to Clitorati.  When we got there Jim, Sandi and company were already waiting for us; that was a pleasant surprise.

I took my car to the dealership to get a leak looked at. I had taken it to the local Firestone last week and they said that at least part of the problem was the water pump – which I’ll get back to in a minute – but that there seemed to be something else leaking, as well – something not related to the water pump. They recommended taking it to the dealership and let the certified GM mechanics look at it. Made sense to me, so that’s what I did. I told them that there was “a leak” and asked them to check it out. While they did that, SaraRules and I went to have lunch with Perry. I got a call a short while later. Their answer: Water pump. Nothing else, just the water pump. They could install a new pump, this afternoon, for something in the $550 (USD) range.

*facepalm*

I told the rep that I’d come get the car and bring it back next week. *sigh*

<< REWIND <<
Back to the water pump. I’ve now taken my car to Firestone three times in the past six weeks. A lot of people might just write off the shop at that point, but I’m not. My rationale:

• Trip 1: They replaced my old water pump.
• Trip 2: After still seeing some leakage, they replaced a couple of bad hoses… which they missed the first time around.  But, they did this on their dime… because they missed it the first time.
• Trip 3: I took it back a week later. Turns out that the replacement water pump was defective. That’s when they found “Possible Leak #2” and suggested taking the car to the dealer to get fixed. Scott, the manager at the Firestone, said that they would replace the pump – even if they had to order a new one directly from Cadillac – under their warranty, because it should have been fixed the first time and because he wanted to make things right.

> PLAY >
That brings us back to today. I went back to Firestone to schedule the water pump replacement. I talked with Scott again and he said that they’ll take care of it on Monday. It looks like they may also cover the cost of having the GM dealership look at the car. On top of that, I discovered that Scott also lived in Baltimore. Not only that, not too far from where I grew up. We had a mini-homecoming right there in the store. SaraRules just laughed at us.

On a serious note: In my dealings with Firestone over the past few weeks, Scott and his team have, in my opinion, demonstrated that they want to foster good relations with their customers – They want to do the right thing and they want to be fair. I don’t think that you can really ask for much more than that from a business. So, with that in mind, I’m naming Scott and his crew at Firestone #595179 as today’s Humans of the Day.

After that, SaraRules and I went to the Utah Museum of Fine Art. One exhibit features art from Southeast Asia; there are some amazing pieces in there, including some elaborately detailed ivory carvings from China. It was a nice way to spend part of the afternoon. On the way home, we stopped for a bite to eat at Dask’s.

Tonight… who knows?

Namaste.

Wednesday – 15 July 2009
I went out to dinner at Redrock Brewing Company with SaraRules, her parents and her grandparents. I had the French Onion Steak Sandwich (which, although very messy, was delicious) and washed it down with a tasty Cream Stout.

After dinner, I went to play ‘Clix with Chris. We decided to play a non-themed game, which allowed us to play with some figures that we hadn’t used before. I threw a decent team together…

• Black Widow (Ultimates)
• Captain Marvel, Jr.
• Dark Beast
• Iceman and
• Spider-Girl

…but didn’t adhere to the strategy that I’d started with and put the wrong pieces in the wrong places at the wrong time. Thus, Black Widow – a lynch-pin in my game plan – wound up getting beaten down. Game plan go *poof*. Dark Beast fell next. Spider-Girl went next and was followed, very shortly, by Iceman. Despite all of this, CMJ did well… relatively speaking. He took a fair bit of punishment, but was still dancing toe-to-toe with Chris’ Hulkbuster Iron Man. In the end, he got taken out, but he went down swinging; I was impressed with the figure – I’ll definitely be putting him in the field again.  (Hopefully, with better dice rolls…)

This morning has been… not too bad, but there were a couple of items that were on the fast-track when I got into the office. One was fairly easy to deal with, the other was… out of my area of expertise. (I’m willing to bet that John Hodgman could have handled it, though.) Fortunately, a workaround was found and life continued apace.

Stray Toasters

• It’s Comics and Sushi Day.
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Rifle-mounted cup holder
• 100 Geeky Places to Take Your Kids This Summer
• After seeing this a week or two ago, I’ve had the song intermittently stuck in my head.
• 
• “No one expects the…”
• From the “Jane’s Addiction” file: TSA officer caught stealing laptops at JFK
• New items for the Covet List.  Too bad I’m not going to SDCC…
• From the “Headline That Didn’t Make Sense out of Context” file: Holy water ban to halt swine flu

Namaste.

Sunday – 12 July 2009
Last night, SaraRules and I wanted something a little different for dinner. We decided on Thai food. And with that, we headed up to Holladay to visit Pawit’s Royale Thai Cuisine. We had Por Pia Sod (spring rolls, with shrimp and chicken) for an appetizer; I opted to try something new and had the Pad Puck with chicken, while SaraRules had the Pad Gra Prow with chicken. As usual, the food was excellent.

We stopped at SaraRules’ parents’ for a few on the way home. Once in, we were in. That’s not to say that we didn’t do anything else: SaraRules worked on our wedding quilt (and finished the top), while I worked on a new building for ‘Clix. I also helped with the quilt. A little. I did a seam. I was also informed that I’ll also be enlisted to help with a little of the hand-quilting when it’s closer to being done.

Today started off lazily, but we’ve actually been nominally “productive,” as we’ve already been to the gym…

• Lat Pull-downs: 3 sets/10 reps, 120 lbs
• Compound Row: 3 sets/10 reps, 125 lbs
• Reverse Flys: 3 sets/10 reps, 80 lbs
• Rows (T-bar style, with a barbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 55 lbs
• Dips: 3 sets/10 reps
• Tricep Press (T-bar): 3 sets/15 reps, 80 lbs
• Tricep Extensions (Rope): 3 sets/10 reps, 45 lbs
• Lower Back Extensions: 3 sets, 10 reps – reverse fly at the top, 10 lb weights in each hand
• Side Bends: 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs
• Decline Sit-ups: 3 sets/15 reps

Post-workout weight: 182.0 lbs
I think that I will start checking my weight either at the beginning or end of a day, rather than at the gym from this point forward… if I remember to do so.

…and we (finally) met our neighbors across the breezeway.

Time to have a bite to eat and then I’m going to try and wrap up as much of the first story of this new building/map that I can before we head to SaraRules’ parents’ place for dinner.

And, tonight: Tower of Power is performing at the Salt Lake Jazz Festival.

Namaste.

Thursday – 09 July 2009
It’s supposed to be an NBN Thursday and my technical Friday… but this morning, it was pushing the envelope.  That’s not entirely true: GoogleTalk was a righteous pain in the keister this morning. For some reason, it decided to tell iChat and Adium to “Sod off!” It’s working now. So, all things considered, it’s still a good day.

Last night, while SaraRules went off to a Zumba class, I fired up City of Heroes and patrolled Paragon City with a pick-up team. The mission level was “a little high” on the first mission we ran, but the others went well. By the time it was all said and done, I had tacked a couple more levels onto Khnurn.

This morning, someone came over and commented about how large my monitor (the 42″ TV) is. I retorted that it is, in fact, large. He asked if it was for a project; I told him that it “kind of” was. He asked if it was for work or personal. At this point, I had a very quick internal monologue… that somehow managed to stay internal:

“Is this for a personal project?”

Come on.  Rub two – JUST TWO – brain cells together and get a synapse or two to fire.  If this was for a personal project, don’t you think that someone (ANYONE!) – from my manager all the way up to one of the execs – would have said something and/or repossessed it long before now? Idiotstick.

It didn’t help that this was one of my “not-as-favored-as-others” coworkers. *sigh* Monkeys.

Then I had a presentation to give in today’s staff meeting. That went well. At least, I think it went well. And really, that’s all I am concerned with right now.

Stray Toasters

• US federal security lapses found
• Hardware makers support Google OS
• Rupert Murdoch reporters in the UK illegally hacked thousands of peoples’ data
• Man, our President is cool
  

  

• Marvel’s Marko Djurdjevic Injects Soul into Comic Art
• Creative Commons licensed secret society for promoting girls’ literacy
• Hot and Bothering: Media Treatment of Sarah Palin

  
  “Debate” © Zina Saunders
  (For more art by Zina Saunders, click the image.)

• Sci-fi couture on the runway
• 3 Smart Things about Beer Marketing
• From the “Wait… WHAT did you just say?!” file: US worker dies in chocolate vat

I should eat something now, for I hunger.

Namaste.

Sunday – 05 July 2009
Yesterday was another mostly lazy day in the valley. I slept in (a little) and then made my way into the living room, where I started reading American Psycho. I’m only 20 or so pages in, but I’m enjoying it so far. After SaraRules woke up, we had breakfast and headed to the gym:

• Leg Extensions: 3 sets/10 reps, 60 lbs
• Leg Raises: 3 sets/10 reps, 60 lbs
• Glutes (Kick-backs): 3 sets/10 reps, 70 lbs
• Flys: 3 sets/10 reps, 110 lbs
• Lower Back Extensions: 3 sets/15 reps, 160 lbs
• Lat Pull-downs: 3 sets/10 reps, 110 lbs
• Forward Lat Raises (w/ rotation to the side): 3 sets/10 reps, 15 lbs
• Curls (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Sit-ups (decline): 3 sets/15 reps

On the way home, we stopped at SaraRules’ parents’ so that she could get a recipe for coffee cake. (More on this below.) We had a lazy aftenoon. For dinner, we headed to Outback Steakhouse – I had been craving Aussie Cheese Fries and decided to fulfill that desire. They – and the rest of dinner (prime rib, salad, baked potato) – were just what the doctor ordered.

We headed up to Eastwood Elementary School to watch the Sugar House Park fireworks display. When we returned home, SaraRules put in Clash by Night, featuring a pre-The Big Valley Barbara Stanwyck as well as Marilyn Monroe.  I was distracted/put off by some of the storyline, but it was a decent movie.

I’m not sure what I want to do today. I have an option on playing ‘Clix with Chris and , but I’m not sure that I’m in the mood for it. (I know…!) I wouldn’t mind playing a little City, either. Or even Marvel Ultimate Alliance. And there are a couple of new ‘Clix building designs running through my head that I need to get onto paper, too.

The Best: The Man Who Sold the World
David Bowie vs. Nirvana vs. Lulu

David Bowie released this song in 1970. And it was good.
Lulu, possibly best known in the States for To Sir, With Love, did a cover in 1974.
Nirvana, a band I’ve never really been a fan of, covered the song in 1993.

I’ve liked the Bowie version since I first heard it, many moons ago.
I thought that the Nirvana cover was… decent, but didn’t really do anything “different” to put their own spin on it.
I heard the Lulu version yesterday, for the first time.

My rankings for the versions:

1. David Bowie
2. Nirvana (I know, this surprises me, too.)
3. Lulu

Stray Toasters

• Former NFL QB Steve McNair found shot to death
  • Baltimore Ravens respond to the news
  • Titans Coach, Jeff Fisher, comments
    
• Getting a summer job: Entrepreneurship for teens
• Fritz Lang directed Clash by Night. He also directed Metropolis, which I own and still need to watch the last forty or so minutes of.
• Personal details of new UK spy chief on Facebook
• It’s snake-eyes for Atlantic City for time being
• I am three weeks behind on Four-Color Coverage.
  This is both an observation… and a warning.
• Disney World monorail crash kills driver
• Michael Jackson book a headache for Jackie O
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Insane Sarah Palin, Late at Night on July 4, Threatens to Sue Entire Internet

Namaste.